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Many new mothers get no advice on infant sleep position, breastfeeding

The study also found that some who do receive advice are told things that contradict many best practices, increasing the risk for SIDS or other health concerns.

By Stephen Feller

BETHESDA, Md., July 27 (UPI) -- Many new mothers receive no advice from healthcare professionals at the hospital on how to place their infants for sleep, the best options for sleeping arrangements or breastfeeding, according to a recent study.

The study also found that some who do receive advice are told things that contradict many best practices, increasing the risk for SIDS or other health concerns.

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"Earlier studies have shown that new mothers listen to their physicians," Dr. Marian Willinger, of the Pregnancy and Perinatology Branch at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, said in a press release. "This survey shows that physicians have an opportunity to provide new mothers with much-needed advice on how to improve infant health and even save infant lives."

Researchers enrolled 1,031 new mothers in the Study of Attitudes and Factors Effecting Infant Care Practices at 32 hospitals, asking them to fill out a survey when their babies are between 2 and 6 months old.

The study showed about about 20 percent of mothers got no advice from doctors on breastfeeding or how to position their baby for sleep, and more than 50 percent were told nothing about pacifier use or sleep location. In most cases, the advice to have infants sleep on their backs to reduce the risk of SIDS and in the same room, though not in the same bed, as their parents.

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Of those who did receive advice, researchers reported finding that 10 to 15 percent of the advice on breastfeeding and pacifier use was not in line with American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations, nor was more that 25 percent of advice on sleep position or location. Women who reported that the advice they'd been given didn't match recommendations, 85 percent had been told to let their baby sleep on his or her back and one other position, generally on the side, which can increase the risk for SIDS as compared to the back position.

Many women who received advice from family or some type of media source said anywhere from 20 percent to 56 percent contradicted AAP recommendations -- most notably that 32 percent of mothers who knew the advice they'd received was not in line with recommendations, 51 percent had been told to allow infants to sleep on their stomachs, which carries the greatest risk for SIDS.

"As a physician, these findings made me stop and really think about how we communicate important information to new parents," said Dr. Staci R. Eisenberg, a pediatrician at Boston Medical Center. "We may need to be clearer and more specific in telling new mothers about safe sleep recommendations. From a public health perspective, there is a real opportunity to engage families and the media to promote infant health."

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The study is published in the Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

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